In today’s episode I speak with Josh Scharff who is the General Counsel &amp; Director, Programs at Brady, the Campaign to End Gun Violence.  Before joining Brady more than 5.5 years ago, Joshua served as an associate at Peer, Gan, &amp; Gisler LLP, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm with a nationwide litigation practice and a special focus on effective resolution of labor and employment disputes. Joshua is a graduate of Rutgers (Go Scarlett Knights), the George Washington University Law School(Go Colonials), and holds a Masters in International Studies from John Hopkins School of Advanced Internal Studies (Go Blue Jays).   This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today’s episode I speak with Josh Scharff who is the General Counsel &amp; Director, Programs at Brady, the Campaign to End Gun Violence. Before joining Brady more than 5.5 years ago, Joshua served as an associate at Peer, Gan, &amp; Gisler LLP, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm with a nationwide litigation practice and a special focus on effective resolution of labor and employment disputes. Joshua is a graduate of Rutgers (Go Scarlett Knights), the George Washington University Law School(Go Colonials), and holds a Masters in International Studies from John Hopkins School of Advanced Internal Studies (Go Blue Jays).  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#118: Joshua Scharff - General Counsel & Director, Programs at Brady

Allison Snyder

In today’s episode I speak with Allison J. Snyder, a long-time construction attorney, arbitrator, and mediator based in Houston, Texas. She has over 35 years of experience as a construction attorney specializing in construction and commercial litigation, arbitration and mediation, construction contract negotiation and drafting and the resolution of various construction claims/work-outs. After 22 years at the Law Firm of Porter Hedges LLP, she went out on her own in May 2023 and will continue to focus on her own ADR practice focused on the construction industry.    Ms. Snyder is a Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers and the College of Commercial Arbitrators. She has served as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Construction Law Section and as Chair of the Houston Bar Association ADR Section. She is listed as one of America’s leading lawyers in construction law by Chambers USA.   Allison was recommended by a longtime How I Lawyer listener who wrote the following: Allison is one of the absolute best construction lawyers in Texas, if not nationwide, and is a personal role model of mine. The first thing out of every single person’s mouth when her name comes up is invariably “Allison is so smart. . . Her demeanor is very calm and thoughtful, she comes across so well and authoritative without ever having to appear to push for it — accomplished, aggressive lawyers from all ages and backgrounds seem to just listen when she speaks." With that intro, how could I not interview her.   This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today’s episode I speak with Allison J. Snyder, a long-time construction attorney, arbitrator, and mediator based in Houston, Texas. She has over 35 years of experience as a construction attorney specializing in construction and commercial litigation, arbitration and mediation, construction contract negotiation and drafting and the resolution of various construction claims/work-outs. After 22 years at the Law Firm of Porter Hedges LLP, she went out on her own in May 2023 and will continue to focus on her own ADR practice focused on the construction industry. Ms. Snyder is a Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers and the College of Commercial Arbitrators. She has served as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Construction Law Section and as Chair of the Houston Bar Association ADR Section. She is listed as one of America’s leading lawyers in construction law by Chambers USA. Allison was recommended by a longtime How I Lawyer listener who wrote the following: Allison is one of the absolute best construction lawyers in Texas, if not nationwide, and is a personal role model of mine. The first thing out of every single person’s mouth when her name comes up is invariably “Allison is so smart. . . Her demeanor is very calm and thoughtful, she comes across so well and authoritative without ever having to appear to push for it — accomplished, aggressive lawyers from all ages and backgrounds seem to just listen when she speaks." With that intro, how could I not interview her. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#117: Allison Snyder - Construction Lawyer

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Betsy Philpott who is a Senior Vice President &amp; General Counsel of my hometown Major League baseball team the Washington Nationals.  After starting her career as an associate in BigLaw for 4.5 years, she took a career pivot by starting over as an intern and going back to school for her Masters in Sports Industry Management. She has now been with the Nationals Organization for more than 9 years starting as a Legal Affairs Specialist and working her way up to General Counsel. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Betsy Philpott who is a Senior Vice President &amp; General Counsel of my hometown Major League baseball team the Washington Nationals. After starting her career as an associate in BigLaw for 4.5 years, she took a career pivot by starting over as an intern and going back to school for her Masters in Sports Industry Management. She has now been with the Nationals Organization for more than 9 years starting as a Legal Affairs Specialist and working her way up to General Counsel. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#116: Betsy Philpott - Sports Lawyer & Washington Nationals General Counsel

In today’s special Panel Opinion episode of How I Lawyer produced in collaboration with The Appellate Project I am excited to welcome four lawyers to talk about the judicial clerkship process and how to secure a judicial clerkship. Specifically I speak with:   Megan Moffett   Grayce Zelphin   Ramon Ryan   Justin Lam   I am excited to partner with the Appellate Project once again on this episode. TAP is a non-profit dedicated to diversifying the appellate bar and empowering law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. On Episode #103, I spoke with four appellate lawyers about their paths to appellate practice and I previously spoke to TAP's Executive Director and Founder Juvaria Khan on Episode #10.  Learn more about The Appellate Project at http://www.theappellateproject.org. The Clerkship Handbook discussed on the episode is available here. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today’s special Panel Opinion episode of How I Lawyer produced in collaboration with The Appellate Project I am excited to welcome four lawyers to talk about the judicial clerkship process and how to secure a judicial clerkship. Specifically I speak with: Megan Moffett Grayce Zelphin Ramon Ryan Justin Lam I am excited to partner with the Appellate Project once again on this episode. TAP is a non-profit dedicated to diversifying the appellate bar and empowering law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. On <a href="http://www.howilawyer.com/103" rel="noopener noreferer nofollow" target="_blank">Episode #103</a>, I spoke with four appellate lawyers about their paths to appellate practice and I previously spoke to TAP's Executive Director and Founder Juvaria Khan on <a href="http://www.howilawyer.com/10" rel="noopener noreferer nofollow" target="_blank">Episode #10</a>. Learn more about The Appellate Project at <a href="http://www.theappellateproject.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.theappellateproject.org</a>. The Clerkship Handbook discussed on the episode is available <a href="https://theappellateproject.org/tap-clerkship-handbook" rel="noopener noreferer nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#115: Panel Opinion - Getting a Judicial Clerkship (Collaboration with The Appellate Project)

In today’s episode I speak with Beth Kurtz. Beth, who is appearing on the show in her personal capacity, currently works as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Before DOJ, Beth was an Attorney at the American Bar Association at the Center on Children and the Law and before that worked for five years at the Children’s Law Center first as an Equal Justice Works Fellow and later as a Supervising Attorney. Beth started her legal career as a judicial law clerk on the DC Court of Appeals. Before attending law school, Beth worked at American’s United for the Separation of Church and State.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today’s episode I speak with Beth Kurtz. Beth, who is appearing on the show in her personal capacity, currently works as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Before DOJ, Beth was an Attorney at the American Bar Association at the Center on Children and the Law and before that worked for five years at the Children’s Law Center first as an Equal Justice Works Fellow and later as a Supervising Attorney. Beth started her legal career as a judicial law clerk on the DC Court of Appeals. Before attending law school, Beth worked at American’s United for the Separation of Church and State. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#114: Beth Kurtz - Child Welfare & Civil Rights Lawyer

In today’s episode I speak with veteran Aviation Lawyer Mark Fava. Mark started his career as a judicial law clerk and litigation attorney in Charleston, South Carolina but for the past 20+ year he has worked in aviation. In August 2001 mere weeks before 9/11 he went to work for Delta as a Chief Operations Attorney managing passenger litigation and defending the company for all FAA actions. He then worked as a Law Firm Partner focused on litigation and regulatory matters related to airlines, and for the past 13 years has been at Boeing where he has served in a number of different legal and executive roles. Mark is also active in writing and speaking about the legal profession and aviation law. He has a blog called www.theaviatorlawyer.com, he has taught CLE courses about what he learned from his time as a law clerk, and now he is almost done with a book called What I Learned from the Admiral about business and leadership lessons I learned as an admiral's aide over 30 years ago. Mark is a graduate of University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina Law. In our conversation we discuss Mark's path to the law, finding and then carving out a niche in aviation, what it was like to be working as an airline lawyer on 9/11, his time as a junior associate and then later as a partner after being in-house, his move back in-house to Boeing, his transition from a legal role to his current role as ombudsmen, his public-facing speaking and content and why that has been so important to his growth, and so many lessons he has learned along the way.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I speak with veteran Aviation Lawyer Mark Fava. Mark started his career as a judicial law clerk and litigation attorney in Charleston, South Carolina but for the past 20+ year he has worked in aviation. In August 2001 mere weeks before 9/11 he went to work for Delta as a Chief Operations Attorney managing passenger litigation and defending the company for all FAA actions. He then worked as a Law Firm Partner focused on litigation and regulatory matters related to airlines, and for the past 13 years has been at Boeing where he has served in a number of different legal and executive roles. Mark is also active in writing and speaking about the legal profession and aviation law. He has a blog called <a href="http://www.theaviatorlawyer.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.theaviatorlawyer.com</a>, he has taught CLE courses about what he learned from his time as a law clerk, and now he is almost done with a book called What I Learned from the Admiral about business and leadership lessons I learned as an admiral's aide over 30 years ago. Mark is a graduate of University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina Law. In our conversation we discuss Mark's path to the law, finding and then carving out a niche in aviation, what it was like to be working as an airline lawyer on 9/11, his time as a junior associate and then later as a partner after being in-house, his move back in-house to Boeing, his transition from a legal role to his current role as ombudsmen, his public-facing speaking and content and why that has been so important to his growth, and so many lessons he has learned along the way. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#113: Mark Fava - Aviation Lawyer

Hello &amp; Welcome Back! In today’s very special panel opinion episode, I am excited to welcome four FUTURE lawyers to the podcast to talk about their paths to law school, their lives as Georgetown Law students, and their tips for success. I think this episode is a great starting place if you think you might want to go to law school. It is also a great listen for those who haven't been in law school in a little while.  My guests are Noah Curtiss, Naman Gupta, Jon-Mark Overvold, and Alexis Marvel. I couldn't be more grateful to them for sharing their time and their personal stories. On the episode we discuss their different paths to the profession, their motivations to attend law school, what a day in the life of a law student is like and their tips &amp; tricks for success.  I am lucky enough to work with law students everyday but recording this episode was really powerful for me. It is a reminder that the future of our profession is very bright.  One final note. Our four panelists today were selected because of their support of the Georgetown Law Equal Justice Foundation auction, an entirely student-run program that helps provides funding for Georgetown Law students working in unpaid summer internships within public interest organizations in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world. I couldn't be more pleased to support EJF with this episode. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

Hello &amp; Welcome Back! In today’s very special panel opinion episode, I am excited to welcome four FUTURE lawyers to the podcast to talk about their paths to law school, their lives as Georgetown Law students, and their tips for success. I think this episode is a great starting place if you think you might want to go to law school. It is also a great listen for those who haven't been in law school in a little while. My guests are Noah Curtiss, Naman Gupta, Jon-Mark Overvold, and Alexis Marvel. I couldn't be more grateful to them for sharing their time and their personal stories. On the episode we discuss their different paths to the profession, their motivations to attend law school, what a day in the life of a law student is like and their tips &amp; tricks for success. I am lucky enough to work with law students everyday but recording this episode was really powerful for me. It is a reminder that the future of our profession is very bright. One final note. Our four panelists today were selected because of their support of the Georgetown Law Equal Justice Foundation auction, an entirely student-run program that helps provides funding for Georgetown Law students working in unpaid summer internships within public interest organizations in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world. I couldn't be more pleased to support EJF with this episode. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#112: Panel Opinion - How I Law Student (An Episode About Paths to Law School & Finding Success Once You Arrive)

In today's episode I speak with Entertainment Lawyer Paul Sarker who was recently named a Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig’s New York Office. Paul represents clients in mergers and acquisitions, television affiliation and retransmission consent agreements, content licensing, business affairs, television production, music, copyright, recording agreements, sponsorships, rights acquisitions, guild, and union matters. Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Paul worked in-house at Disney &amp; Marvel as well as at other law firms in the Entertainment space. In addition, Paul is the co-host of Better Call Paul, a podcast that discusses the business and legal side behind the scenes of Hollywood, sports, and entertainment.  In our conversation we discuss Paul's path to law, his decision to take an in-house job at Marvel out of school, his first day on the job, the differences between BigLaw and in-house practice, skills for junior lawyers, the power of visual communication, his podcast, and more.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today's episode I speak with Entertainment Lawyer Paul Sarker who was recently named a Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig’s New York Office. Paul represents clients in mergers and acquisitions, television affiliation and retransmission consent agreements, content licensing, business affairs, television production, music, copyright, recording agreements, sponsorships, rights acquisitions, guild, and union matters. Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Paul worked in-house at Disney &amp; Marvel as well as at other law firms in the Entertainment space. In addition, Paul is the co-host of Better Call Paul, a podcast that discusses the business and legal side behind the scenes of Hollywood, sports, and entertainment. In our conversation we discuss Paul's path to law, his decision to take an in-house job at Marvel out of school, his first day on the job, the differences between BigLaw and in-house practice, skills for junior lawyers, the power of visual communication, his podcast, and more. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#111: Paul Sarker - Entertainment Lawyer

In honor of Well-being Week in Law I speak with Jordana Alter Confino. Jordana plays many different roles but what they all share is a focus on the skills, well-being, empowerment, mental health, and growth of lawyers &amp; law students. She is the Assistant Dean of Professionalism at Fordham Law where she oversees all aspects of the Professionalism Office’s work including the Law School’s wellness, professionalism, and peer mentorship offerings. Jordana also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law, teaching Positive Lawyering and Peer Mentoring &amp; Leadership. She was voted Fordham Law Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2021. She also has her own consulting and coaching business where she works with individuals and groups on topics related to building connections, living your values, dealign with perfectionism by cultivating a growth mindset, and using positive psychology to boost well-being, resilience, performance, and happiness. She serves as a leader of number of academic and professional organizations focused on balance and attorney well-being. Prior to joining Fordham, Jordana served as the Assistant Director of Academic Counseling, Acting Clerkship Advisor, and a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law and before that started her career as a law clerk to judges on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the Southern District of New York. She is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School (Go Bulldogs) and she holds a certification in applied Positive Psychology from the New York Open Center.  In our conversation we discuss her personal challenges and how they led her current career, her decision to study and then teach positive psychology to law students and lawyers, her techniques to help lawyers deeper and more fulfilling professional and personal lives, perfectionism in our profession, the importance of identifying and living your values, and more. You can learn more about Jordana and her work at the following links:  Jordana's Website: https://www.jordanaconfino.com/ Subscribe to Jordana's Blog, Chronicles of a Recovering Type A+ Perfectionist: https://www.jordanaconfino.com/newsletter-sign-up   Values Discovery Guide: https://www.jordanaconfino.com/values   Jordana's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaconfino/   This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In honor of Well-being Week in Law I speak with Jordana Alter Confino. Jordana plays many different roles but what they all share is a focus on the skills, well-being, empowerment, mental health, and growth of lawyers &amp; law students. She is the Assistant Dean of Professionalism at Fordham Law where she oversees all aspects of the Professionalism Office’s work including the Law School’s wellness, professionalism, and peer mentorship offerings. Jordana also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law, teaching Positive Lawyering and Peer Mentoring &amp; Leadership. She was voted Fordham Law Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2021. She also has her own consulting and coaching business where she works with individuals and groups on topics related to building connections, living your values, dealign with perfectionism by cultivating a growth mindset, and using positive psychology to boost well-being, resilience, performance, and happiness. She serves as a leader of number of academic and professional organizations focused on balance and attorney well-being. Prior to joining Fordham, Jordana served as the Assistant Director of Academic Counseling, Acting Clerkship Advisor, and a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law and before that started her career as a law clerk to judges on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the Southern District of New York. She is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School (Go Bulldogs) and she holds a certification in applied Positive Psychology from the New York Open Center. In our conversation we discuss her personal challenges and how they led her current career, her decision to study and then teach positive psychology to law students and lawyers, her techniques to help lawyers deeper and more fulfilling professional and personal lives, perfectionism in our profession, the importance of identifying and living your values, and more. You can learn more about Jordana and her work at the following links: <ul> <li>Jordana's Website: <a href="https://www.jordanaconfino.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.jordanaconfino.com/</a></li> <li>Subscribe to Jordana's Blog, Chronicles of a Recovering Type A+ Perfectionist: <a href="https://www.jordanaconfino.com/newsletter-sign-up" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.jordanaconfino.com/newsletter-sign-up</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li>Values Discovery Guide: <a href="https://www.jordanaconfino.com/values" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.jordanaconfino.com/values</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li>Jordana's LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaconfino/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaconfino/</a></li> </ul> This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#110: Jordana Confino - Lawyer Well-being & Positive Lawyering Expert, Assistant Dean of Professionalism at Fordham Law

In today’s episode I speak with Priya Coffey who is a Partner at Jackson Walker in Houston, Texas where she practices Real Estate law. Specifically, Priya assists clients with complex commercial real estate transactions, including the representation of buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of raw land, office buildings and retail centers, and the representation of landlords and tenants in commercial office building leases and retail leases. Priya’s experience extends to advising her clients on land use matters, City of Houston ordinances and other governmental compliance related matters. She also represents both buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of high-end residential property. Priya is active in a number of legal and community organizations including Covenant House, Executive Sleep Out Committee, Board of Directors of Recipe for Success, and the University of Chicago’s Houston Regional Council. She is also a member of the South Asian Bar Association of Houston, and The Junior League of Houston, Inc. and the Executive Women’s Partnership in Houston. Priya is a graduate of the University of Chicago (Go Maroons) and holds a Masters in Public Policy from the London School of Economics, and a JD from Texas Tech University School of Law (Go Red Raiders). In our conversation we discuss her decision to become a lawyer, how a clerkship changed her professional life even as a transactional lawyer, the unique parts (and not so unique parts) of real estate law, some of the suprising parts of her career, the super power of taking on opportunities to learn new things, where the practice of real estate law is going in the years to come, and more.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I speak with Priya Coffey who is a Partner at Jackson Walker in Houston, Texas where she practices Real Estate law. Specifically, Priya assists clients with complex commercial real estate transactions, including the representation of buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of raw land, office buildings and retail centers, and the representation of landlords and tenants in commercial office building leases and retail leases. Priya’s experience extends to advising her clients on land use matters, City of Houston ordinances and other governmental compliance related matters. She also represents both buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of high-end residential property. Priya is active in a number of legal and community organizations including Covenant House, Executive Sleep Out Committee, Board of Directors of Recipe for Success, and the University of Chicago’s Houston Regional Council. She is also a member of the South Asian Bar Association of Houston, and The Junior League of Houston, Inc. and the Executive Women’s Partnership in Houston. Priya is a graduate of the University of Chicago (Go Maroons) and holds a Masters in Public Policy from the London School of Economics, and a JD from Texas Tech University School of Law (Go Red Raiders). In our conversation we discuss her decision to become a lawyer, how a clerkship changed her professional life even as a transactional lawyer, the unique parts (and not so unique parts) of real estate law, some of the suprising parts of her career, the super power of taking on opportunities to learn new things, where the practice of real estate law is going in the years to come, and more. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#109: Priya Coffey - Real Estate Lawyer

In this podcast Professor Jonah Perlin (Georgetown Law) interviews lawyers from across the profession about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well.

Donald Sherman

In today’s episode I speak with Donald Sherman who is a government ethics and oversight lawyer who is currently the Senior Vice President &amp; Chief Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW (where, full disclosure, he works with my wife). In addition to his non-profit litigation experience at CREW, Donald has worked in all three branches of government. He served for a number of years as Senior Counsel to Ranking Member Senator Claire McCaskill on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Before that he was Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel for Oversight and Investigations in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). And before that he worked for Rep. Elijah Cummings, then-Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform including as Chief Oversight Counsel. He started his legal career as a law clerk Honorable Neil E. Kravitz of the District of Columbia Superior Court and worked in private practice at Crowell &amp; Morning. Donald is a proud graduate of both Georgetown University and Georgetown Law (Go Hoyas).  In our conversation we discuss his decision to become a lawyer in elementary school, how crashing a wedding helped him get his first job in government oversight, the nuts and bolts of being an oversight and ethics lawyer on Capitol Hill and in the non-profit space, how the Hill and advocacy organizations interact when it comes to government oversight work, developing the skills of factual development and investigations, what constitutes success when advocating for major political change, the ways to transition from the private to the public sector, the superpower of being an effective generalist, and the role that people/kindness/relationships play in the life and career of a lawyer.   This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today’s episode I speak with Donald Sherman who is a government ethics and oversight lawyer who is currently the Senior Vice President &amp; Chief Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW (where, full disclosure, he works with my wife). In addition to his non-profit litigation experience at CREW, Donald has worked in all three branches of government. He served for a number of years as Senior Counsel to Ranking Member Senator Claire McCaskill on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Before that he was Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel for Oversight and Investigations in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). And before that he worked for Rep. Elijah Cummings, then-Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform including as Chief Oversight Counsel. He started his legal career as a law clerk Honorable Neil E. Kravitz of the District of Columbia Superior Court and worked in private practice at Crowell &amp; Morning. Donald is a proud graduate of both Georgetown University and Georgetown Law (Go Hoyas). In our conversation we discuss his decision to become a lawyer in elementary school, how crashing a wedding helped him get his first job in government oversight, the nuts and bolts of being an oversight and ethics lawyer on Capitol Hill and in the non-profit space, how the Hill and advocacy organizations interact when it comes to government oversight work, developing the skills of factual development and investigations, what constitutes success when advocating for major political change, the ways to transition from the private to the public sector, the superpower of being an effective generalist, and the role that people/kindness/relationships play in the life and career of a lawyer. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#108: Donald Sherman - Government Ethics & Oversight Lawyer

In today’s episode I speak with Kevin Elliker who is currently Counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth in Richmond, Virginia where he focuses on Appeals, Litigation and Investigations. Prior to rejoining the Firm in October 2022, Kevin spent three years in government service first as an Assistant United States Attorney in Richmond and most recently as an Investigative Counsel for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. He also assisted in an independent review commissioned by the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, to examine the City’s response to protest events in the summer of 2017, resulting in a published report detailing the independent review’s findings. Kevin started his law career as a clerk to Judge King of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Gibney on the Eastern District of Virginia. Prior to Law School at William &amp; Mary (Go Tribe) where he graduated number 1 in his class, Kevin was a High School history and government teacher for two years. He is a graduate of James Madison University (Go Dukes).  In our conversation we discuss his decision to pivot from teaching high school to the law; how his experience teaching helped him find success in law school; securing his two clerkships and what he learned from each, his time as a federal prosecutor and investigations attorney for the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol where he conducted more than 60 interviews and depositions, provided Congressional briefings, coordinated the presentation of evidence for televised hearings, and contributed to the Committee’s final report; why being a "Fourth Circuit Nerd" helped him get opportunities at his firm; his work in private practice; and more.   🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I speak with <a href="https://www.huntonak.com/en/people/kevin-elliker.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kevin Elliker </a>who is currently Counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth in Richmond, Virginia where he focuses on Appeals, Litigation and Investigations. Prior to rejoining the Firm in October 2022, Kevin spent three years in government service first as an Assistant United States Attorney in Richmond and most recently as an Investigative Counsel for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. He also assisted in an independent review commissioned by the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, to examine the City’s response to protest events in the summer of 2017, resulting in a published report detailing the independent review’s findings. Kevin started his law career as a clerk to Judge King of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Gibney on the Eastern District of Virginia. Prior to Law School at William &amp; Mary (Go Tribe) where he graduated number 1 in his class, Kevin was a High School history and government teacher for two years. He is a graduate of James Madison University (Go Dukes).  In our conversation we discuss his decision to pivot from teaching high school to the law; how his experience teaching helped him find success in law school; securing his two clerkships and what he learned from each, his time as a federal prosecutor and investigations attorney for the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol where he conducted more than 60 interviews and depositions, provided Congressional briefings, coordinated the presentation of evidence for televised hearings, and contributed to the Committee’s final report; why being a "Fourth Circuit Nerd" helped him get opportunities at his firm; his work in private practice; and more.   🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://legalkeyboards.com/pages/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LegalBoard</a>, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#107: Kevin Elliker - Investigations & Appeals Lawyer, Former Federal Prosecutor, and Former Investigative Counsel to the January 6th House Select Committee

Dan Cotter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Dan Cotter. Dan is currently an attorney at Howard &amp; Howard in Chicago where he represents businesses at many different stages in corporate and transactional matters. He has a particular emphasis on privacy and cybersecurity law. But over the course of his 25-plus years as a lawyer, Dan has had a varied and in his words "eclectic" practice having practiced in different areas and different settings including but not limited to litigation, in-house counsel, outside general counsel, and working on behalf of both for profit and non-profit entities.  More than that, Dan has been active in the legal community including doing pro bono work and serving as a past president of the Chicago Bar (and a current Mediator for that group). He also hosts a podcast called Podium and Panel and he is a prolific writer, writing a regular column called Cotter’s Corner for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and a book titled the Chief Justices: The Seventeen Men of the Center Seat, Their Courts, and Their Times.  Dan is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (Go Dragons) where he was a night student but still was an editor on the law review graduated number 1 in his class and Monmouth College where he played football and was a radio DJ among other accolades (Go Fighting Scots). He’s a longtime supporter of How I Lawyer and I am excited to get the chance to share his story. 🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Dan Cotter. Dan is currently an attorney at Howard &amp; Howard in Chicago where he represents businesses at many different stages in corporate and transactional matters. He has a particular emphasis on privacy and cybersecurity law. But over the course of his 25-plus years as a lawyer, Dan has had a varied and in his words "eclectic" practice having practiced in different areas and different settings including but not limited to litigation, in-house counsel, outside general counsel, and working on behalf of both for profit and non-profit entities.  More than that, Dan has been active in the legal community including doing pro bono work and serving as a past president of the Chicago Bar (and a current Mediator for that group). He also hosts a podcast called <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-podium-and-panel-podcast/id1547184854" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Podium and Panel</a> and he is a prolific writer, writing a regular column called Cotter’s Corner for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and a book titled the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chief-Justices-Daniel-Cotter-ebook/dp/B07PY11RRR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HDUVC0IPU1MF&amp;keywords=dan+cotter&amp;qid=1678415788&amp;sprefix=dan+cotter%2Caps%2C90&amp;sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chief Justices: The Seventeen Men of the Center Seat, Their Courts, and Their Times</a>.  Dan is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (Go Dragons) where he was a night student but still was an editor on the law review graduated number 1 in his class and Monmouth College where he played football and was a radio DJ among other accolades (Go Fighting Scots). He’s a longtime supporter of How I Lawyer and I am excited to get the chance to share his story. 🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://legalkeyboards.com/pages/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LegalBoard</a>, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#106: Dan Cotter - Chicago Business and Privacy Lawyer, Former In-House Counsel, Bar Leader, Author, and Podcaster

Brian Farkas

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Brian Farkas. Brian is an Associate at Arent Fox Schiff in New York City where he handles complex commercial disputes in federal and state courts as well as in arbitrations and mediation proceedings. Before joining that firm Brian served as a law clerk to Judge Robert W. Lehrburger of the US District Court of SDNY and worked for six years at a midsize litigation firm in New York. He is deeply committed to teaching and training the next generation of lawyers. I am not sure how he has time for it all but he serves as an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law where he teaches arbitration and dispute resolution having won the Best Adjunct Professor Award several times as well as teaching mediation and negotiation at CUNY and Brooklyn Law. He is also an active member of the New York City Bar Association, where he serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the City Bar’s New Lawyer Institute, which offers career development programming and mentoring for law students and recent graduates. He’s been named a Rising Star in Business Litigation for 8 years and He’s also active in the ABA and is a regular contributor to law reviews and legal trade publications. He is a graduate of Vassar where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees and Cardozo Law. In our conversation we discuss his path from college journalist and student bar leader to lawyer, the real value of what a legal education provides, dealing with imposter syndrome as a junior lawyer (getting comfortable with being uncomfortable), his decision to be a mid-career judicial law clerk, not ignoring the downside risk of not making a change when assessing a new opportunity, the differences and similarities between litigation, mediation, and arbitration practices, why the best lawyers know how to read a room, learning how to be a "middle voice," rethinking of networking as friendship building, and more. 🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Brian Farkas. Brian is an Associate at Arent Fox Schiff in New York City where he handles complex commercial disputes in federal and state courts as well as in arbitrations and mediation proceedings. Before joining that firm Brian served as a law clerk to Judge Robert W. Lehrburger of the US District Court of SDNY and worked for six years at a midsize litigation firm in New York. He is deeply committed to teaching and training the next generation of lawyers. I am not sure how he has time for it all but he serves as an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law where he teaches arbitration and dispute resolution having won the Best Adjunct Professor Award several times as well as teaching mediation and negotiation at CUNY and Brooklyn Law. He is also an active member of the New York City Bar Association, where he serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the City Bar’s New Lawyer Institute, which offers career development programming and mentoring for law students and recent graduates. He’s been named a Rising Star in Business Litigation for 8 years and He’s also active in the ABA and is a regular contributor to law reviews and legal trade publications. He is a graduate of Vassar where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees and Cardozo Law. In our conversation we discuss his path from college journalist and student bar leader to lawyer, the real value of what a legal education provides, dealing with imposter syndrome as a junior lawyer (getting comfortable with being uncomfortable), his decision to be a mid-career judicial law clerk, not ignoring the downside risk of not making a change when assessing a new opportunity, the differences and similarities between litigation, mediation, and arbitration practices, why the best lawyers know how to read a room, learning how to be a "middle voice," rethinking of networking as friendship building, and more. 🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://legalkeyboards.com/pages/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LegalBoard</a>, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#105: Brian Farkas - Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation Attorney

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with John Strohmeyer. John is a Tax and Estate Planning Attorney in Houston, Texas. After working in several law firms, John started his own firm about five years ago where he helps clients through the maze of estate planning, tax, &amp; probate law to help them leave No Unfinished Business® John is active in the tax and estate planning communities like the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the International Tax Committee of the Tax Section of the Texas State Bar, and the ABA. He also is a regular speaker on these issues to individuals and lawyers alike.  But more than just a lawyer, John is a thought leader for lawyers who want to run effective and client-centered law practice. His wonderful podcast, Five Star Counsel, which has more than one hundred episodes ask a provocative question question: "What would a law firm built by the founders of Disney, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and Zappos look like.” In his podcast he draws on interviews and his own expertise in the law and almost three years as a customer service professional as the Night Manager at the Four Seasons in Austin, Texas before law school.  In our conversation we discuss his path to law as a college Zoology major and hotel manager, what is unique about a tax and estates practice, the lessons that lawyers should take from high-end experiences like the Four Seasons (and why they not be the lessons they think they should take), knowing and sharing your value as a lawyer when helping clients solve problems, the benefits of a fixed fee practice, techniques for marketing and sales other than having the lowest price product, why his dogs are on the staff page of his website, and more.   🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with John Strohmeyer. John is a Tax and Estate Planning Attorney in Houston, Texas. After working in several law firms, John started his <a href="https://www.strohmeyerlaw.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">own firm</a> about five years ago where he helps clients through the maze of estate planning, tax, &amp; probate law to help them leave No Unfinished Business® John is active in the tax and estate planning communities like the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the International Tax Committee of the Tax Section of the Texas State Bar, and the ABA. He also is a regular speaker on these issues to individuals and lawyers alike.  But more than just a lawyer, John is a thought leader for lawyers who want to run effective and client-centered law practice. His wonderful podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/five-star-counsel-podcast/id1539196686" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Five Star Counsel</a>, which has more than one hundred episodes ask a provocative question question: "What would a law firm built by the founders of Disney, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and Zappos look like.” In his podcast he draws on interviews and his own expertise in the law and almost three years as a customer service professional as the Night Manager at the Four Seasons in Austin, Texas before law school.  In our conversation we discuss his path to law as a college Zoology major and hotel manager, what is unique about a tax and estates practice, the lessons that lawyers should take from high-end experiences like the Four Seasons (and why they not be the lessons they think they should take), knowing and sharing your value as a lawyer when helping clients solve problems, the benefits of a fixed fee practice, techniques for marketing and sales other than having the lowest price product, why his dogs are on the staff page of his website, and more.   🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://legalkeyboards.com/pages/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LegalBoard</a>, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#104: John Strohmeyer - Tax and Estate Planning Lawyer & Legal Marketing Expert

In today’s special Panel Opinion episode of How I Lawyer produced with The Appellate Project I am excited to welcome four appellate lawyers who share their paths to becoming appellate lawyers and the tools they have learned for success along the way.   I am excited to partner with the Appellate Project on this episode. TAP is a non-profit dedicated to diversifying the appellate bar and empowering law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. I previously spoke to TAP's Executive Director and Founder Juvaria Khan on Episode #10! The episode features:  Cristina Najarro (Deputy State Public Defender at  the Office of the State Public Defender in Oakland, California)  Mahogane Reed (Appellate Attorney at the U. S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.) Juan Perla (Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt &amp; Mosle LLP in New York, NY) Ian Courts (Assistant District Attorney-Appeals Unit in Philadelphia, PA)  Learn more about The Appellate Project at http://www.theappellateproject.org.  This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today’s special Panel Opinion episode of How I Lawyer produced with The Appellate Project I am excited to welcome four appellate lawyers who share their paths to becoming appellate lawyers and the tools they have learned for success along the way.  I am excited to partner with the Appellate Project on this episode. TAP is a non-profit dedicated to diversifying the appellate bar and empowering law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. I previously spoke to TAP's Executive Director and Founder Juvaria Khan on Episode #10! The episode features: <ul> <li>Cristina Najarro (Deputy State Public Defender at  the Office of the State Public Defender in Oakland, California) </li> <li>Mahogane Reed (Appellate Attorney at the U. S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.)</li> <li>Juan Perla (Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt &amp; Mosle LLP in New York, NY)</li> <li>Ian Courts (Assistant District Attorney-Appeals Unit in Philadelphia, PA)</li> </ul> Learn more about The Appellate Project at <a href="http://www.theappellateprojet.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.theappellateproject.org</a>.  This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#103: Panel Opinion - Paths to Becoming an Appellate Lawyer (Collaboration with The Appellate Project)

Matt Schwartz

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with my friend Matt Schwartz. Matt is a transactional partner and law firm leader at the international law firm DLA Piper where he serves as Chair of the US Finance Practice and the Head of Venture &amp; Growth Lending. He has been at DLA for more than 20 years since graduating from Harvard Law School (Go Crimson) and the George Washington University (Go Colonials). At DLA and in the broader legal community, Matt is deeply committed to mentorship. He is a co-founder of and leader in the national non-profit Legal Mentor Network where he has personally mentored dozens of junior lawyers and helped facilitate hundreds of mentor-mentee partnership. He is also active in charitable efforts in the San Diego community and is perhaps most known as a baseball coach and #lawdad.  In our conversation we discuss his path to transactional work, the lifecycle of a deal, the importance of learning what you want to do by getting experiences, mentoring pest practices, the network effects of being a mentor, removing the shame from making mistakes, and the upcoming DLA Piper/Legal Mentor Bootcamp (more information below). ***Want to learn more about transactional law practice? (It is free and available to anyone).*** DLA Piper &amp; non-profit Legal Mentor Network are hosting a four-part introduction to fundamentals and best practices for new lawyers working in a transactional practice. Each session will be eligible for 90 minutes of CLE credit and the Legal Mentor Network will provide a certificate of completion for anyone who attends all four sessions. DLA Piper has underwritten the cost of the entire program which is free to any law students or young lawyers who would benefit from the content.  Session Dates Session 1: Friday, February 17 Session 2: Friday, March 3 Session 3: Friday, March 17 Session 4: Friday, March 31 You must attend all four sessions to receive the LMN certificate of completion. All session times 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm PT 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CT 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET Learn more here.  🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter 

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with my friend Matt Schwartz. Matt is a transactional partner and law firm leader at the international law firm DLA Piper where he serves as Chair of the US Finance Practice and the Head of Venture &amp; Growth Lending. He has been at DLA for more than 20 years since graduating from Harvard Law School (Go Crimson) and the George Washington University (Go Colonials). At DLA and in the broader legal community, Matt is deeply committed to mentorship. He is a co-founder of and leader in the national non-profit Legal Mentor Network where he has personally mentored dozens of junior lawyers and helped facilitate hundreds of mentor-mentee partnership. He is also active in charitable efforts in the San Diego community and is perhaps most known as a baseball coach and #lawdad.  In our conversation we discuss his path to transactional work, the lifecycle of a deal, the importance of learning what you want to do by getting experiences, mentoring pest practices, the network effects of being a mentor, removing the shame from making mistakes, and the upcoming DLA Piper/Legal Mentor Bootcamp (more information below). ***Want to learn more about transactional law practice? (It is free and available to anyone).*** DLA Piper &amp; non-profit Legal Mentor Network are hosting a four-part introduction to fundamentals and best practices for new lawyers working in a transactional practice. Each session will be eligible for 90 minutes of CLE credit and the Legal Mentor Network will provide a certificate of completion for anyone who attends all four sessions. DLA Piper has underwritten the cost of the entire program which is free to any law students or young lawyers who would benefit from the content.  <h3>Session Dates</h3> Session 1: Friday, February 17 Session 2: Friday, March 3 Session 3: Friday, March 17 Session 4: Friday, March 31 You must attend all four sessions to receive the LMN certificate of completion. <h3>All session times</h3> 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm PT 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CT 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET Learn more <a href="https://comms.dlapiper.com/5/5928/january-2023/legal-mentor-network-bootcamp-feb-to-march-2023-(new-file).asp?sid=4adc9c9a-2fb5-4fbb-993d-2dd4f17ed4a6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.  🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://legalkeyboards.com/pages/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LegalBoard</a>, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul>

#102: Matt Schwartz - Financial Transactions Attorney and Mentorship Thought Leader

In today's episode I speak with Freelance Attorney Michelle K. Camp. Michelle is an experienced litigator who has handled all aspects of litigation from pre-litigation to drafting pleadings and motions, conducting discovery, and assisting with trials and appeals in both state and federal court. She began her career and worked for nearly seven years at Gibson, Dunn &amp; Crutcher, LLP, where she focused on securities litigation and mass tort litigation. In her freelance work over the past 6 years since leaving BigLaw, she has assisted clients with a variety of business litigation, arbitration, appeals, and labor &amp; employment projects on a freelance basis. Michelle is a proud first-gen graduate of Portland State and Pepperdine Law (from which she graduated summa cum laude). She is also a proud military spouse and mom to four young children. In our conversation we discuss Michelle's path to law school, finding success as a first-gen student in law school, getting a position in BigLaw, her decision to move to freelance work, the different kinds of freelance work lawyers can do (including working on substantive motions and legal writing), and the various personal and professional benefits she has found in the freelance path.  This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today's episode I speak with Freelance Attorney Michelle K. Camp. Michelle is an experienced litigator who has handled all aspects of litigation from pre-litigation to drafting pleadings and motions, conducting discovery, and assisting with trials and appeals in both state and federal court. She began her career and worked for nearly seven years at Gibson, Dunn &amp; Crutcher, LLP, where she focused on securities litigation and mass tort litigation. In her freelance work over the past 6 years since leaving BigLaw, she has assisted clients with a variety of business litigation, arbitration, appeals, and labor &amp; employment projects on a freelance basis. Michelle is a proud first-gen graduate of Portland State and Pepperdine Law (from which she graduated summa cum laude). She is also a proud military spouse and mom to four young children. In our conversation we discuss Michelle's path to law school, finding success as a first-gen student in law school, getting a position in BigLaw, her decision to move to freelance work, the different kinds of freelance work lawyers can do (including working on substantive motions and legal writing), and the various personal and professional benefits she has found in the freelance path.  This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://legalkeyboards.com/pages/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LegalBoard</a>, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#101: Michelle K. Camp - Freelance Attorney

💯 Welcome to Episode #100 of the How I Lawyer Podcast! 💯 I started the podcast in January 2021 to help junior lawyers, law students, and the legal community learn from the stories of lawyers from across the profession about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well. 100 episodes later the podcast has grown beyond my wildest dreams.  If you've enjoyed the show I hope you'll leave a review and rating and share the podcast with friends, colleagues, or on social media.  --- In today's episode I speak with Kristen Vander-Plas LaFreniere who founded her own #TeenyLaw Firm in her hometown of Lubbock, Texas where she works with her husband David LaFreniere and their PAWclerk Copper. Kristen practices in a number of different areas including: business counseling, civil litigation, probate, and civil appeals. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Lubbock Area Bar Association and is admitted to practice in all Texas courts, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, along with various federal district courts. Kristen is a leader in her community and has held various positions of leadership throughout the Lubbock area including teaching courses in business law to college students and coaching moot court teams. After Kristen completed a summer internship with then-Justice Don Willett at the Supreme Court of Texas (now Judge Willett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit), Justice Willett asked her back to be his post-graduate law clerk and briefing attorney for the 2016-17 court term. She then practiced at a medium-sized law firm before founding her own firm. She is active on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KVPTexas. In our conversation we discuss Kristen's path to the law from home school to completing multiple majors and minors in college, the power of learning how to learn, her experiences at the Texas Supreme Court (including participating in conference), the role of moot court in her legal education, her decision to found her own "Teeny" law firm (and how others can do the same), the balance between picking areas of practice and being an expert, how being the daughter of a Pastor taught her to be a better at client service, how to network with less stress, the counterintuitive goal of making yourself unnecessary to your clients, balancing work and life as a law firm founder working from home, and so much more.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

💯 Welcome to Episode #100 of the How I Lawyer Podcast! 💯 I started the podcast in January 2021 to help junior lawyers, law students, and the legal community learn from the stories of lawyers from across the profession about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well. 100 episodes later the podcast has grown beyond my wildest dreams.  If you've enjoyed the show I hope you'll leave a review and rating and share the podcast with friends, colleagues, or on social media.  --- In today's episode I speak with Kristen Vander-Plas LaFreniere who founded her own #TeenyLaw Firm in her hometown of Lubbock, Texas where she works with her husband David LaFreniere and their PAWclerk Copper. Kristen practices in a number of different areas including: business counseling, civil litigation, probate, and civil appeals. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Lubbock Area Bar Association and is admitted to practice in all Texas courts, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, along with various federal district courts. Kristen is a leader in her community and has held various positions of leadership throughout the Lubbock area including teaching courses in business law to college students and coaching moot court teams. After Kristen completed a summer internship with then-Justice Don Willett at the Supreme Court of Texas (now Judge Willett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit), Justice Willett asked her back to be his post-graduate law clerk and briefing attorney for the 2016-17 court term. She then practiced at a medium-sized law firm before founding her own firm. She is active on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/KVPTexas" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.twitter.com/KVPTexas</a>. In our conversation we discuss Kristen's path to the law from home school to completing multiple majors and minors in college, the power of learning how to learn, her experiences at the Texas Supreme Court (including participating in conference), the role of moot court in her legal education, her decision to found her own "Teeny" law firm (and how others can do the same), the balance between picking areas of practice and being an expert, how being the daughter of a Pastor taught her to be a better at client service, how to network with less stress, the counterintuitive goal of making yourself unnecessary to your clients, balancing work and life as a law firm founder working from home, and so much more.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#100: Kristen Vander-Plas LaFreniere - Teeny Law Firm Founder, Business Lawyer, and Litigator

In today's episode I speak with Jenni Katzman who is a government &amp; policy lawyer with experience in all three branches of government, several political campaigns, and non-profit advocacy organizations. Currently, she is the General Counsel and Chief of Domestic Policy for Senator Ron Wyden (D-Or). Before working on Capitol Hill, Jenni worked as a Director of Policy Development and Programming at the American Constitution Society and before that in the Executive Branch at the White House, DOJ, and the Department of Education, and as a Voter Protection Counsel for the Obama for America Campaign. Prior to her career in policy, she worked in private practice at two different law firms and served as a law clerk to a federal judge. She is a graduate of Duke and Cornell Law. In our conversation we discuss her path to the law, her experience clerking after several years in private practice, the transition from litigation to policy work, the roles that lawyers play on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch, what its like to be a lawyer in a fast-paced presidential campaign, the power of not just saying no but also trying to come up with creative solutions to get to yes, why diversity is so important on Capitol Hill and throughout the government, what distinguishes policy work from other areas of legal practice, and the importance of speaking up as a junior lawyer.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less?  Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today's episode I speak with Jenni Katzman who is a government &amp; policy lawyer with experience in all three branches of government, several political campaigns, and non-profit advocacy organizations. Currently, she is the General Counsel and Chief of Domestic Policy for Senator Ron Wyden (D-Or). Before working on Capitol Hill, Jenni worked as a Director of Policy Development and Programming at the American Constitution Society and before that in the Executive Branch at the White House, DOJ, and the Department of Education, and as a Voter Protection Counsel for the Obama for America Campaign. Prior to her career in policy, she worked in private practice at two different law firms and served as a law clerk to a federal judge. She is a graduate of Duke and Cornell Law. In our conversation we discuss her path to the law, her experience clerking after several years in private practice, the transition from litigation to policy work, the roles that lawyers play on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch, what its like to be a lawyer in a fast-paced presidential campaign, the power of not just saying no but also trying to come up with creative solutions to get to yes, why diversity is so important on Capitol Hill and throughout the government, what distinguishes policy work from other areas of legal practice, and the importance of speaking up as a junior lawyer.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? <ul> <li>Leave a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Review</a> (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners)</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/HILiTunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/HILSpotify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li>Purchase How I Lawyer <a href="https://howilawyer.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Merchandise</a></li> <li>Share on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/how-i-lawyer-podcast-6894276710054137856/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://www.twitter.com/JonahPerlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li></ul>

#099: Jenni Katzman - Government & Policy Lawyer

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